Established in 2006, the Keystone State Education Coalition is a growing grass roots, non-partisan public education advocacy group of several hundred locally elected, volunteer school board members and administrators from school districts throughout Pennsylvania. Our mission is to evaluate, discuss and inform our boards, district constituents and legislators on legislative issues of common interest and to facilitate active engagement in public education advocacy.

Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for March 7, 2013: Accuracy, Fairness,
Transparency - funding formula on the left; funding formula on the
right; how about a funding formula?

“because the closings would create education deserts in
areas of the city with the highest concentration of minority and
low-income residents….Who would stay or move into a neighborhood that doesn’t
even have a school in which parents and community members can invest their
energies?”

The Philadelphia
school system is broke, with 53,000 empty seats and a huge stable of buildings
it cannot afford to maintain. A
well-organized, ardent group of citizens - supported by the powerful teachers
union - is pushing back hard against the 29 proposed school closings.

Thursday is decision day, as the five members of the School Reform
Commission will meet to vote on 27 of the proposed closures and dozens more
program shifts and grade changes. (Votes for two closures, proposed more
recently, will be taken later.)

How high are the stakes? The president of the American Federation of
Teachers is expected to be in town for a pre-vote, anti-closing rally that
could draw hundreds outside the School District's
headquarters on North Broad Street.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Education officials in the city will vote Thursday on
whether to close more than 10 percent of the district's schools, a
potentially money-saving move that opponents contend will irreparably damage
dozens of neighborhoods. Many of the 27
buildings are in poor condition and have too many empty seats because of the
district's 23 percent enrollment drop over the past decade. The downsizing
would save the cash-strapped system about $24.5 million per year, officials
said.
But activists have held countless rallies and demonstrations against the plan,
even camping outside Mayor Michael Nutter's office for several hours Tuesday.
They contend that the closures will harm already struggling neighborhoods by
fueling the exodus from the district. "(Schools)
are hubs of community life," said Ron Whitehorne, a retired middle-school
science teacher. "We ought to be ... investing in these schools and
developing them, not only for improved educational outcomes but for the whole
community."

Thursday's School Reform Commission vote on the recommended closure of
nearly 30 schools will undoubtedly have a major impact on the future of the
city's public school system. In advance of the vote, the Notebook asked prominent
Philadelphians to offer their thoughts, using new
data and maps on school attendance patterns in the city as a
starting point.

At the heart of school closings and school choice in Philadelphia is the question of equity
-- or lack of it. For the past three decades, parents have been
migrating to what they perceive as better options for their children,
largely as a result of neglect of schools in neighborhoods of color.

As urban districts around the country, including Philadelphia, have gone through major shifts
and changes in population, we have seen large disparities among different
schools, depending on where they’re located and who attends them. As
various neighborhoods in Philadelphia
became majority African-American, and later Latino, their schools received less
attention, support, and investment from “downtown.” Across the country, 70
percent of African American children still attend schools with high
teacher turnover and a disproportionate number of inexperienced teachers. Their
schools are more likely to have outdated facilities, constant principal churn,
more safety issues and inadequate access to technology, libraries, counselors,
and extracurricular activities.

Thursday's School Reform Commission vote on the recommended closure of
nearly 30 schools will undoubtedly have a major impact on the future of the
city's public school system. In advance of the vote,
the Notebook asked prominent Philadelphians to offer their
thoughts, using new
data and maps on school attendance patterns in the city as a
starting point.

Far more important than the question of whether schools should close is
why some neighborhood schools work -- even when serving the same students
with the same funding -- and others don’t. We don’t need to look far
to answer this question and don’t need to engage in some hypothetical debate
over models, governance, theories, or systems. We need only to look at the
dozens of successful neighborhood schools in Philadelphia and find the common threads:
focused leaders, resourceful and committed teachers, and the conditions that
enable these educators to thrive.

We’ve covered how the current state funding distribution perpetuates
racial inequality, and how Tom Corbett made a conscious choice to go back
to distributing the money this way, quietly rolling back Rendell-era reforms. I would also add that the “hold harmless” law
leads to perverse land use and development choices. Growing districts are
punished by the current approach and shrinking districts are rewarded.
Consequently, any time local politicians are inclined to make pro-growth land
use and development choices that would grow the local population, there’s
inevitable pushback from people understandably worried that more growth will
lead to more families moving in, sending their school taxes soaring.

This is nuts. The state needs to reward local governments who want to
grow their populations, not punish them.

LawCenter Report: PA
One of Only Three States without Education Funding FormulaNo accuracy, fairness, or transparency possible
without sound formula

EducationLawCenterFebruary
28, 2013

Pennsylvania is a national outlier when it comes to following
basic budgeting principles -- accuracy, fairness, and transparency -- that most
states use when it comes to public school funding, according to a new report
from the EducationLawCenter.
The statewide, non-profit organization examined how each of the 50 states
calculates and distributes education dollars. The report shows that Pennsylvania is in the
minority when it comes to basic budgeting practices used by most states.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some lawmakers on Monday
called for stronger state regulation of Pennsylvania's
charter and cyber-charter schools, while others derided Gov. Tom Corbett's plan
to finance new school grants by privatizing liquor and wine sales as a
political gimmick.
Senators took turns quizzing state Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis on
wide-ranging topics at an Appropriations Committee hearing that focused mostly
on his department's programs and its $11.3 billion budget request for the fiscal
year that starts July 1.

Public pensions recently have been unfairly attacked by Gov. Tom Corbett
and his right-wing conservative friends in Harrisburg. The Corbett administration has
conducted a statewide publicity campaign to try to convince people and state
legislators that the unfunded liability created by the Wall Street collapse in
2008 and a decade of pension holidays in contributions by the State has risen
to crisis proportions. If we don’t
accept their solutions our Commonwealth will sink into fiscal and economic chaos.
Even some local elected officials and school boards have jumped on this
political bandwagon. They are using it for their own political cover and to
advance a narrow political agenda, favoring Wall Street over Main Street.

PhiladelphiaSchool District leaders say that in order to prevent a deficit of
$1 billion over the next five years, they will be asking teachers to make major
concessions that would amount to $180 million in savings. Included in the
District proposals for a new union contract with sweeping changes is a
lengthening of the school day, a 13% cut in salary for teachers earning over
$55,000, a restructuring of the way retiring teachers are paid out, and more
authority to principals when it comes to hiring and firing teachers. In
this hour of Radio Times, we'll start off talking with Philadelphia School
Superintendent WILLIAM
HITE about the proposals, which he says are intended save the district
and benefit both teachers and students. Then, we'll get reactions from
former teacher and activist RON WHITEHORNE and
education policy analyst and EduWonk blogger ANDREW
ROTHERHAM.

In a just-released list of graduation rates for District high schools,
there is a new name among the leaders: PaulRobesonHigh School for Human
Services. Robeson's graduation rate of
90 percent places it among the top ten District high schools
in four-year graduation rates for freshman who started in 2008. That may seem like good news -- except that
the District wants to close Robeson next year and send its students to Sayre,
with a graduation rate of 53 percent.

"Is it fair for a small
number of really rich people to take over educational policy-making?" said
Kenneth Saltman, an education professor at DePaulUniversity in Chicago. "Who are the lobbyists really
working for? Who's funding them?"

Parents United for Public Education
Files Ethics Complaints Against William Penn Foundation And Boston Consulting Group

Huffington Post By KATHY MATHESON, AP 03/06/13 11:42 AM ET EST

PHILADELPHIA -- School activists are using unusual tactics to
fight a contested proposal to overhaul the nearly bankrupt Philadelphia school district: They've gone to
the city ethics board.

Their ethics complaint says the two private groups that helped fund and
develop the plan should have registered as lobbyists, which would have
compelled public disclosure of donors and meetings with public officials.

And while nothing illegal is alleged, the complaint highlights an issue
that has become increasingly relevant as cash-strapped schools nationwide seek
money from nonpublic sources to offset budget cuts. Supporters say private
money funds badly needed innovations, yet critics say there is not enough
transparency.

Pittsburgh’s school board is about to get a major shake up.
Four of its eleven spots are open this year, and several districts have
multiple candidates. Because of the nature of city politics, many of these
seats are likely to be decided in the May primary, so we just have a couple
months to get to know those who are running.
…..Here’s the
perfect chance to ask questions and learn where your future school board
members stand on privatization, school closures, charter reform,
high-stakes-testing, and sticking up for adequate state funding: on Monday,
March 11, 2013,
PIIN will host a town hall meeting with all the school board candidates at
University Prep 6-12 at Milliones, in the Hill District (3117 Centre Ave,
Pittsburgh, PA 15219).

Schools shift from
textbooks to tablets

WASHINGTON - Well before the cleanup from Superstorm Sandy was
in full swing, students could read about the weather system that slammed the
East Coast in their textbooks.

Welcome to the new digital bookcase, where traditional ink-and-paper textbooks
have given way to iPads and book bags are getting lighter. Publishers update
students' books almost instantly with the latest events or research. Schools
are increasingly looking to the hand-held tablets as a way to sustain students'
interest, reward their achievements and, in some cases, actually keep
per-student costs down.

NATIONAL GROUP LED BY DIANE RAVITCH LAUNCHES; WILL SUPPORT CANDIDATES
WORKING TO PRESERVE AND STRENGTHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS MARCH 6, 2013

Today marks the public launch of a new network devoted to the defense and
improvement of public education in the US. Led by renowned education
historian, Diane Ravitch, the Network for Public Education will bring together
grassroots activists and organizations from around the country, and endorse
candidates for office, with the common goal of protecting and strengthening our
public schools.

According to the results
posted in the Los Angeles Times, with 100% of the vote counted but not
certified, Steve Zimmer won by 52-48%! Assuming
that no one discovers a precinct with thousands of uncounted votes, this is a
stunning upset!

Voters keep sending signals that they have very mixed feelings about
corporate-based school reform. The latest signs come from Los Angeles, where Tuesday’s races for three
Board of Education seats resulted in one defeat, one win, and one runoff for
supporters of school reform.

The reason it matters is that Los
Angeles is the second largest public school district
in the country, and people around the country were watching the elections as a
kind of bellwether of public support for controversial reforms.

America’s Top Urban Public Charter School System Eradicates
Achievement Gaps, Sends All Students to College

Broad Foundation releases research on best practices of Houston’s YES
Prep Public Schools, winner of Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools
LOS ANGELES – A report detailing the practices behind the 2012 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools winner’s success in
eliminating achievement gaps and reaching 100 percent college admission for all
its students was released today by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

Among the strategies researchers found likely to be contributing to YES
Prep’s outstanding results with low-income and minority students:

Talented teachers and
administrators carefully selected based on qualities exhibited by YES
Prep’s most successful teachers and administrators

Regular teacher
professional development, coaching and individualized support

Character building and
community service integrated into the academic curriculum

Preparation for
students to thrive in a “college culture,” including travel opportunities
to colleges and other trips, as well as assistance with college and
financial aid applications, so students can envision themselves as
successful college students

Critical academic and
social-emotional support for students even after high school on their
college campuses

Music: Just for Rich Kids?

Today, thanks to state-by-state budget cuts, music education is rapidly
disappearing -- down about 20 percent since 2001, according to MENC (the
National Association for Music Education). No longer able to provide all the
"perks" of a liberal arts education, our public schools are
abandoning arts education, starting with music. Music is expensive (instruments
aren't free). Music is non-essential (they can listen at home, right?). And
most of all, music isn't on "the test" to which we teach. This alarming trend ignores the immense value
of music training on a child's development. Children who study music
consistently perform better on standardized tests in both math and reading and
earn higher grades. Through music study they learn vital life skills: problem
solving, self-discipline, frustration tolerance, creativity, empathy,
compassion, and the value of hard work.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Army Heritage Center
Foundation, and the PennsylvaniaStateMuseum
are pleased to announce a competition for students in Middle and

High School to demonstrate how and why societies honor valor. Inspired by
the valor exemplified by Soldiers at Gettysburg
in 1863, citizens on September
11, 2001, and the responses of individuals battling disease or
injustice, the competition will recognize students who demonstrate

excellence in identifying and describing how and why societies honor
their valiant men and women.

For those of you who have never gone to an
Edcamp before, please make a note of the unusual part of the morning where we
will build the schedule. Edcamp doesn’t believe in paying fancy people to come
and talk at you about teaching! At an Edcamp, the people attending – the participants
- facilitate sessions on teaching and learning! So Edcamp won’t
succeed without a whole bunch of you wanting to run a session of some kind!
What kinds of sessions might you run?

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About Me

Mark Twain: "God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board."
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School Director, School District of Haverford Township, since 1999;
Chairman, Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council;
Founder and Co-Chair, Southeastern Pennsylvania School Districts’ Education Coalition/Keystone State Education Coalition, Board of Directors, PA School Boards Assocation
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If you have any feedback or links to articles that might be a good fit on this blog please email me at lawrenceafeinberg@gmail.com
Thanks!